Speaking in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) tonight for Dalhousie University was an unique opportunity this evening. Half of the audience was parents and their teenagers – with the remaining half being college/university students. As I noticed this diversity of audience members prior to starting, I had to make a decision: WHO do I focus this presentation on and for? The answer is BOTH. I combined the “Can I Kiss You?” program with the “HELP! My Teen Is Dating. Real Solutions to Tough Conversations” presentation.
The crowd was fantastic and the feedback afterward was greatly appreciated. Thanks, everyone, for a truly one-of-a-kind evening. Watch the video below to see their response.
Earlier in the afternoon, we had a “Train the Trainer” workshop with Peer Educators, Resident Assistants, and some professional staff. An interesting question arose. A staff member asked (paraphrase), “While what you are teaching is ideal, we can’t really expect it, can we?” The answer is, “Absolutely YES we can. The moment we don’t expect people to ‘do the right thing’, we have given up on the humanity side of human beings. Our job is to teach them HOW to do the right thing and make it so logical that they WANT to do the right thing. By the way, most people WANT to do the right thing already. They simply don’t think they have the tools and/or skills to do so.”
Overwhelming, the students agreed. After the session, they told me how students do what to make the best choice. They usually don’t make the best choice because of someone illogical fear they possess. If we take away the fear, we empower them to make better choices. Who can you help give the right skills to today?
Never give up on your mission to create positive change!